Shipwreck
by kcpiratey05
Summary: A little one shot of Jack, Elizabeth and their son having an outing on a deserted island. AU. For SleepyLotus


"Edward!" She called down the beach. "Edward!" Elizabeth turned toward her husband who was walking toward her from the surf, shaking water from hair as a dog would. "Did you see which direction your son ran off?"

"My son?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes, your son." She persisted.

"I do believe you had a hand in his conception, love, if I recall correctly" He said pulling her into his sodden and decidedly unclad chest.

Elizabeth pushed him back. "He is _your_ son when he decides to go traipsing about without anyone knowing." Elizabeth admonished.

"Lizzie, you worry over nothing. I'm sure he's just around the ridge in the tide pools."

"You're willing to put your rum on the line for that statement?"

"Well…I…"

"Edward!" She turned away from Jack and called out again.

"Darling" He tugged her arm so she'd face him. "We are on an island with no inhabitants, no wildlife, what danger could he possibly get into?"

"Mum! Dad!" A young voice screamed from the dense jungle behind them.

Elizabeth shot a murderous look toward Jack before sprinting off into the jungle.

"Lizzie, wait!" He called to her, attempting to throw on his boots while he ran after them.

Jack finally caught up to her, only to find her standing stock still and staring straight ahead, looking positively flabbergasted. Edward's hand placed firmly in hers, he looked back toward his father. "I found something." He stated softly and proudly.

Jack followed their gaze and in the dead center of the jungle was a massive galleon. It lay amongst the trees as if the island appeared beneath it to render it aground. The ship must have been hundreds of years old. The hull was damaged and the wood had begun to rot. Vines and plants had started taking over the ship, nearly camouflaging to the naked eye. The masts still stood tall, but the sails had long disintegrated. Jack wouldn't have believed it, if he wasn't bearing witness to it in this very moment.

"Do you think there's treasure inside?" Edward asked his dad hopefully.

"How do you think it got here?" Elizabeth finally spoke, recovering from her state of awe.

"Tsunami? Typhoon? Beats me. Shall we take a look inside?" Jack looked to Elizabeth for approval.

"Jack, do you think that's a good idea?" Elizabeth was hesitant.

"You heard the boy. There might be treasure." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I'll take the lead. If anything unsavory is hiding about, it will get me first."

"How comforting." She mused. "Very well, let's go."

The three had entered the ship through the hull's open portal, sunlight peaked through thin slits before them. There were crates and barrels everywhere. Jack rummaged around and knelt before a longer crate. He pulled his knife and began prying at the box.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Elizabeth asked in a hushed voice.

"Plundering, dear." He said as he popped open the lid. "What do we have here?" He said reaching inside. Jack pulled out a handful of candles and handed one to his son and to his wife. "Now we can see a little better." He smiled and lit each of the candles with the flint from his pocket.

Having a better source of light definitely helped them navigate the belly of the ship. The cargo hold was filled with ammunition, weaponry, cannonballs. Edward had gone ahead of his parents to look about. "Don't go too far, Edward." Lizzie called out with little affect.

"Dad?" Edward called out hesitantly, a small tremor in his voice.

Jack and Lizzie moved quickly in the direction their son had gone. "What is it?" Jack asked and Edward pointed toward the bulkhead where shackles were littered from end to end, the bones of its captives still attached. Jack's face clouded over and every inch of his body began to tremble with anger.

"Why would they keep their prisoners down here instead of in the brig?" Edward asked.

"They weren't prisoners. They were slaves." He said through partially gritted teeth.

"Come on. Let's see if there's anything of value above." Elizabeth interrupted, ushering her son away from the scene before them. "Are you all right?" She turned back to Jack, who stayed staring at the bodies strewn across the floor.

"Society dares to call us monsters, yet they treat human life as if it were property to be bought and sold." He seethed.

Elizabeth approached him and turned his face toward hers, pulling him into a deep kiss.

"What was that for?" He asked, confused.

"For being a good man. You may not have saved everyone, but because of you lives were saved. It may have come nearly two decades later, but your good deed deserved to be rewarded." She smirked.

"You should know," He said resting his forehead against hers "that I have saved your life a multitude of times, perhaps those good deeds need rewarding as well." He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled her head back.

"I married you, that was your reward" She laughed heartily at the pout he'd given her at that assessment. "Come. Let's be sure our son hasn't gotten into any trouble." She put her hand in his and dragged him along with her toward the steps leading above.

"You're accepting responsibility for the lad now? Well, it's about time." He chided and she looked back at him, narrowing her eyes.

"Insufferable man." She mumbled, tugging his hand harder.

When they arrived on deck, they saw Edward careful hugging the rail of the tilted deck as he inched toward the Captain's Cabin.

"Careful, boy" Jack crowed as he noticed his footing slip on a loose bit of planking.

"I'm always careful." Edward yelled back.

"He certainly has a high opinion of his capabilities." Jack whispered into Elizabeth's ear before she too began to hug the port side railing.

"I wonder why that would be?" Elizabeth murmured back to him, eyes never leaving her son who had made it safely inside the captain's cabin. Elizabeth and Jack were not far behind.

Lizzie let go of the railing and let her momentum carry her to the open doorway, landing against the frame with a small thud. Jack followed suit and nearly crushed Elizabeth beneath his weight, if not for the hand he put up to stop himself at the last minute. He lingered as he held his body against hers.

"Do you mind?" She poked her finger against his chest.

"Not at all love." He leaned down to press a kiss to her lips when she turned her head to the side and slipped beneath his arms, causing Jack to lose his balance.

Rubbing his shoulder where he collided with the wall, Jack followed his wife into the main cabin.

Elizabeth looked about and couldn't locate her son anywhere. "Edward." She called. "Where are you hiding?" She continued to move gingerly across the floorboards. She felt a plank give way beneath her foot and almost fell through, but Jack caught her arm in the nick of time, helping her to her feet.

"Careful, love." He smirked.

"Where is he?" She whispered.

"Side cabin?" He offered pointing to their right.

The two made their way over to the door and stepped inside. It was incredibly dark and musty. All the curtains had been drawn closed, the only light that came in were the small specks through broken planks and the doorway through which they had come.

"Edward, are you in here?" Elizabeth pleaded. "Come out this instant."

"Maybe he's hiding back in the main cabin." Jack said, feeling a strange chill creep up his spine.

Elizabeth began to move toward a cabinet near the back of the room. A large oaken beast of a thing with doors on both sides, she approached it cautiously. She pulled on the knobs. The doors flew open and a full bodied skeleton sprang forth from the darkness latching itself to her. She let out a loud shriek and flew backwards onto the floor. Startled, Jack jumped backwards out of her way, and soon heard soft giggling coming from the back of the cabinet.

Stepping over his petrified wife, who had chucked the pile of bones well away from her, Jack peered into the cabin and pulled out his son by his shirt collar.

"Not the wisest of moves, lad." He whispered so that only Edward could hear him. "Found him." He said aloud to Elizabeth who was now on her feet.

"I don't know how and I don't know when, but you are going to pay dearly for that one, dearest son." She said in an eerily calm voice.

Edward stared slack jawed after his mother, almost forgetting what he had found inside the cabinet. Coming to his senses, he pried himself from his father's grasp and went back into the cabinet.

"Eddie, come back here." Jack said after the boy.

"I found something else in there." He said before pulling a large chest toward the opening of the cabinet. "Treasure." He said proudly to his skeptical parents.

"We'll see about that." Jack said kneeling before the ornate chest. "We'll at the very least get a nice bit of coin for the chest."

The lock broke with a moderate amount of ease as the jungle air had eroded its integrity. Jack lifted the lid and light bounced off the contents in every which way. Coins, jewels, and gold bars were practically spilling out of the chest.

"See, I told you." Edward proclaimed. "Now I have enough money to buy my own ship."

"You have?" Elizabeth asked, incredulous.

"Well, I found it, so I get to keep it…and I want my own ship." He said resolutely, trying to act a little older than he felt.

"I'm sorry, dear, but as the Pirate King, I automatically get three shares of this booty."

"And as Captain, I'm afraid I get two shares."

"Which leaves you with…" Elizabeth rummaged through the chest and pulled out a necklace with a large ruby pendant "this." She said, handing him the jewelry.

"Sorry to say, but no one will sell you a ship for that, mate." Jack chuckled under his breath.

"Not fair." Edward pouted.

"Remember when I said I would make you pay?" Elizabeth bent down, whispering to her son.

"You mean five minutes ago?" Edward said with a scowl.

"Consider the debt settled." She smirked.

Edward rolled his eyes, "Bloody pirates."

Jack laughed, clapping him on the back. "Don't be too mad, son. Your mother is teaching you a valuable lesson."

"And that is?"

"Never mess with your mother." Jack continued to laugh as they hauled the chest out of the cabin.


End file.
